£50 million: the fuel sapping cost of van loads: Businesses around the UK could save around £50 million each yea...

Businesses around the UK could save around £50 million each year-simply by taking the unnecessary weight out of the back of their vans. According to new research from the Energy Saving Trust, businesses that operate fleets of light goods vehicles (up to 3.5 tonnes), could collectively save this staggering sum simply by lightening their load by 75 kilogrammes each. That is equivalent to removing three bags of cement or an empty industrial gas cylinder. Previous research found that a typical van – driving the NEDC regulatory test cycle – used eight per cent more fuel when fully laden, compared to being driven empty. However, new research carried out by Cenex – a Centre of Excellence for low carbon and fuel cell technologies – on behalf of the Energy Saving Trust has, for the first time, modelled the impact of weight on fuel consumption using real-world driving conditions. Re...